The Complex Factors That Drive Students’ Sense of Belonging
An expert in student belonging and engagement in the digital environment explains the nuances of belonging, mattering and inclusion as well as how to foster well-being in higher education.
What is an intelligent campus? How is technology blurring, or extending, the borders of the modern university? And how do you build belonging when your students could be spread across the globe?
In this episode we talk to two experts from leading US institutions – who were both speakers at Times Higher Education’s Digital Universities US 2024 event – about how technology is redefining the university experience.
Steve Harmon is executive director of the Center for 21st Century Universities at Georgia Tech as well as associate dean of research in professional education and a professor in the School of Industrial Design. He explains how his university has created “co-learning” spaces where students can gather and interact while benefiting from the flexibility of hybrid learning and how technology from virtual reality (VR) to YouTube supports the “learning to learn” skills that underpin higher education.
Lev Gonick is chief information officer at Arizona State University and chair of the Sun Corridor Network, Arizona’s research and education network. He talks about the digital infrastructure required to support inclusive digital education at scale, looking to Hollywood-style immersive storytelling to teach STEM and why it’s vital to align digital goals with the institution’s overall mission.
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